Galaxion
Galaxion is a 1999 American animated science fiction film produced by Universal Feature Animation. The second feature in the Universal Animated Features canon, it is loosely based on the comic series of the same name by Tara Tallan, and was co-written and directed by Paul Sabella and co-written by Thomas Lennon. The film stars the voices of Michael J. Fox, Halle Berry, Julia Roberts, Michelle Pfeiffer, Minnie Driver, Debra Messing, and Dave Foley, and follows the crew of the titular interstellar ship as they test a new experimental hyperdrive engine. Galaxion was originally released by Universal Pictures on July 2, 1999 to mixed to positive reviews from critics, who praised its animation, score, voice acting, and writing, but criticized its derivative source material. The film underperformed at the box office, grossing only $96.2 million worldwide over its $80 million budget, and led Universal to abandon plans for a trilogy and a spin-off television series. Plot Coming soon! Cast *Michael J. Fox as Darvin Deloren, the civilian employee of Interplanetary Patrol, right-hand man of General Nelson, an old friend of Zandarin and Fusella *Halle Berry as Aria Schafer, a member of the Survey Contact Team *Julia Roberts as Vessa Khavis, the leader of the Survey Contact Team *Michelle Pfeiffer as Fusella Mierter, the captain of the Galaxion *Minnie Driver as Brig. General Scavina Nelson, leading the Nelson Project, Interplanetary Patrol's hyperspace jump travel experiment *Debra Messing as Anna Ito, the Chief Engineer *Dave Foley as Zandarin Wilder, a civilian employee of Interplanetary Patrol *Jim Cummings as Alex Anderson, an employee of Interplanetary Patrol and Chief Engineer for the Nelson Project *Jodi Benson as Patty Kusene, the medical specialist on the Survey Contact Team Additional voices *Jack Angel *Bob Bergen *Rodger Bumpass *Debi Derryberry *Pat Fraley *Jess Harnell *Danny Mann *Mickie McGowan *Phil Proctor *Jan Rabson *Frank Welker Production A film adaptation of the Galaxion comic book series, then called Salmagundi, was in development in 1994 at Universal Feature Animation. More coming soon! Music James Newton Howard composed the film's score. Release Galaxion was originally set to be released on September 25, 1998, but on October 18, 1997, its release date was changed to July 2, 1999. Marketing The film was accompanied by a promotional campaign by Burger King. Home media Galaxion was released on DVD and VHS on October 26, 1999. The DVD release includes audio commentary, behind-the-scenes featurettes, music videos, production notes, interactive games, and trailers and television spots. Reception Critical reception Galaxion received a 60% approval rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on 35 reviews with the given consensus, "Fantastic visuals and clever writing for sci-fi standards, but its story is rather cheesy and familiar." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 56 out of 100 based on 24 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale. Box office Galaxion grossed $24.1 million in the United States and Canada and $72.1 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $96.2 million. Universal Feature Animation had the film projected to gross anywhere from $27–44 million from 3,236 theaters in its opening weekend. However, after making $3.2 million on its first day, weekend projections were lowered to $10 million. It ended up debuting to $9.2 million, finishing fifth at the box office. In its second weekend, the film suffered from a 56% drop while grossing $4 million and dropping to No. 8 on the charts. Its third weekend was even worse while having a 74% decline, falling out of the charts and grossing $1.1 million. Cancelled franchise Galaxion was originally intended to be the first film in a planned trilogy; a television series was also planned at the time. However, due to the box office failure of the film, Universal scrapped any plans for the sequels and the television series. Video games Coming soon! Transcripts Main To see the main transcript of the film, click here. Trailers To see the transcript for the trailers of the film, click here.